Life Cycle Assessment Study

The report discovered that most of the manufacturing carbon emissions for traditional internal combustion engine vehicles come from manufacturing the steel used in the vehicles frame — which then contributes to emissions later in the cycle because heavier vehicles require more gas to operate. The report discussed the idea that creating lighter vehicles with less steel would bring down not only the emissions in the manufacturing process but the emissions from operation as well. The report also noted that much of the emissions from car production are caused by carbon-based electricity that powers automotive plants, and as Greg Archer, LowCVP Managing Director, said, “the automotive industry is already taking positive steps to address this issue – the recent announcement by Toyota of a solar array to provide electricity to power the hybrid Auris production facility and wind power at the Nissan Leaf plant are excellent examples of this.”

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